"Barbara & Friends"

Based on the BBC Television Series

 

These informal programs combine music with chat. Barbara invites us to share the world of her favorite composer friends as she brings their music and personalities to life. This is entertainment for everyone- even the first-time listener. No knowledge is required- just a pair of ears and an open soul to enjoy the experience.In these lively informal programs, which also include a question and answer session with

her audience, Barbara takes us back to the nineteenth-century salons of Paris to meet "Chopin: The Poet of the Piano." She dazzles us with the virtuosity and theatrics of the charismatic Romantic personality and greatest pianist of all time, "Franz Liszt: The 'Elvis Presley' of the Keyboard." The soulful, familiar melodies of Rachmaninoff, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scriabin, and Prokofiev are heard in "The Russians are Coming; The Russians are Coming!" as Barbara shares with us the music of her favorite Russian "friends."  Beethoven is not forgotten and his life and music are explored in "Beethoven:  The Tragic Hero." "A Love Story: Robert & Clara & Johannes," features music by Schumann and Brahms. Barbara dedicates one program to her lively friends from Spain and Latin America and introduces us to deFalla, Albeniz, Granados, Villa-Lobos and Ginastera. 

 

With her unique personalization of music, Barbara provides a wonderful opportunity to expand the public for classical music. This is entertainment and enjoyment for the entire family and a proven way of building future audiences for classical music.  Barbara connects with any audience- from children to retirees.  Her ability to talk about her composer "friends" led BBC Television to film a 16-week musical series with Barbara.  Deere & Co., the farm equipment manufacturer, was inspired to create a successful concert-lecture series with Barbara and their factory workers- the first of its kind in America! Whether appearing as soloist on the major stages of the world with symphony orchestras or giving an informal talk to a group of non-musicians about her composer "friends," Barbara communicates.  She connects and makes the magic of music accessible to all who hear her.